This week I heard about the State of Jefferson and the movement to have counties from northern California and southern Oregon form a 51st state in the USA.

The presentation was part of the Dec. 2 Board of Supervisors meeting.

What a great plan. Of course, the devil will be in the details and there certainly will be lots of them.

However for those of us tired of being governed by the ultra-liberal population centers in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas it is a goal worth chasing.

Being able to leave California while staying in beautiful Lake County would be priceless, truly a state of utopia. In Jefferson smaller counties that are all but ignored in California would finally have proper representation.

The presentation by Mark Baird was excellent. However I was completely sold on the Jefferson concept by the comments of Victoria Brandon, our local Sierra Club representative.

The satire she used was brilliant. She pointed out that should Lake County leave California we would lose all the advantages of Cap and Trade, carbon taxes and no longer be ruled by the California Air Resources Board. We would lose all of the climate change protection provided by the great state of California. I was sold on the concept.

Should such a small government state ever happen, Jefferson would certainly need some sort of immigration controls or the population would face the risk of soaring out of control.

While it is far from a done deal, it is a very strong grassroots movement that has a chance.

Check it out at www.JeffersonDeclaration.net .

Ed Calkins lives in Kelseyville, Calif.